The story of the early years of gDiapers + gNappies (gDiapers.com, gNappies.com), the leader in eco-friendly hybrid diapers.

We thought "g" stood for green, groovy, genuine...An intrepid customer has just returned from a trip to a glacier - the last one in the world according to Big Al Gore I think - with gBeach Ball in hand. So we can add glacier to the list. I was lucky enough to meet Australia's Environment Minister last weekend. He said that one scientist reckons that by 2100 our little beach side flat in Bondi will be well and truly under. Just checking the snorkeling masks now and making sure those Beach Balls can in fact become flotation devices.
Thanks to Adweeray for the pic. Fabulous!

Another gap in blogging but I have my best excuse yet. Last Monday, while we slept two thieves came in and helped themselves to our laptops, video and car. See the scene I discovered at 3am at left. I wonder why the duck doorstop was spared?

Pleasingly the stolen car was a Prius - the 7th in Australia no less...so at least the getaway was sustainable.

The CSI crew came in and found one juicy fingerprint (also at left) But unilke the popular program, it takes a month to process and they really felt we have buckleys (no chance). There was also no evidence of any romance between the two detectives which was a bit disappointing.

Far more promising was another detective's work...that of my Mum. We have eTags on our cars so you can drive on toll roads and payment is made electronically. Mum is checking with DOT to see if the car has taken any freeways.

Given that Australia was founded by convicts, it is little wonder a few of us go back to our roots.

And anyone who thinks backing up data is a waste of time, give me a call! It is a life saver.

Happy New Year! We are working out of the Australian office but on US hours so a little bit back to front. Amazing what Skype, webcam, email and a telephone can achieve.

So, what of 2007? It is shaping up to be another big year for gDiapers. Still early days for the business and so much learned in 2006 but we feel good heading into the next 12 months.

I am not so upbeat re: the planet...Australia has shifted significantly in terms of the environment since we were here in 2005. I am so curious to see if it happens in the US. The big drivers here are:

(1) The Prime Minister has established a front bench cabinet position purely for Climate Change. For my American cousins that would be akin to W establishing a new "Office of Climate Change", just like his "Office of Homeland Security" in the executive branch.

(2) A hurricane ripped through Queensland (lotsa crops there) sending the price of banana's to $2 a piece

(3) Water levels at dams servicing Sydney are down to just 30%

(4) The Snowy River is predicted to run dry by 2050 (As the name suggests, this is Australia's ski country)

(5) It hailed in the nation's capital on Christmas day

(6) Al Gore now has 75 "Mini Al's" doing his presentation for him country-wide

(7) To be seen leaving a supermarket with groceries in plastic bags is a fate worse than death. Groovy, green reusable bags rule and now some one in the art department went nuts as they are now available in hot pink. Green is the new black...What is so interesting is that the stigma of plastic is so high that even if you forget to bring your own bags back each time, consumers are choosing to buy more bags at the check out. My mum has a mountain of them and they make great beach bags.

There is no doubt Australians are feeling it in very personal ways and so the response is immediate and on an individual level. People are retrofitting their houses with solar and water tanks. A mate even has a mini turbine he is putting on his roof that will provide more power than he needs so he will sell it back to the grid.

I just hope the US doesn't wait too long before they start seeing the light. Somewhat like stopping a massive oil tanker and changing direction, it is going to take time for 300 million Americans to make a shift. Australia is just 20 million people so can move pretty quickly and being where we are, you feel it personally - fines for washing your car and watering your garden on certain days etc.

I was hoping Katrina, Al and expensive oil could have done it. What we need is a huge spike in the price of something Americans highly value due to something environmental (bananas for Aussies)... Disappointingly the oil price hikes last year actually saw SUV sales up during that period.

As I am in the land of Tim Tams, I am shipping them to anyone who can name the one commodity they reckon the average American would change behaviour for if the price of it doubled due to climate change. So if Bud doubled in price due to a hops shortages linked to global warming, would that trigger a mind shift?

The revolution is going to need to come from the streets methinks. Curious to know your thoughts.